Lead with Kindness, Win with Transparency

Season 8, Episode 2: Leading with Kindness with Lori Dillon

What if one of the most powerful leadership strategies is also one of the simplest?

In this episode of Ignite Cast, Judd Wilson and Taylor Tutor sit down with Lori Dillon, Director of Marketing at Absolute Restoration, community advocate, wife, mother, and self-described "goldendoodle in a room full of people."

Lori shares how kindness, authenticity, and intentional connection have shaped her leadership journey—from growing up at the Tupelo Children's Mansion to becoming a respected leader involved in organizations across Northeast Mississippi. She opens up about balancing family, career, volunteer commitments, and community service while learning the importance of saying "no" to protect the quality of her impact.

The conversation explores overcoming imposter syndrome, building confidence through curiosity, asking better questions, and why some of the most influential leaders are simply those willing to show up, listen, and make others feel seen.

Whether you're a seasoned leader, a young professional finding your footing, or someone looking to make a difference in your community, Lori's story is a powerful reminder that leadership isn't about having all the answers—it's about being willing to learn, serve, and lead with grace.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

•  Why kindness is Lori's most important leadership principle 
•  How to overcome imposter syndrome and lead with authenticity 
•  The value of asking questions and staying teachable 
•  Finding balance between work, family, and community involvement 
•  Lessons learned from the Tupelo Children's Mansion that still guide her today 

Because sometimes the strongest leaders aren't the loudest voices in the room—they're the ones making sure everyone else feels welcome in it

🎧 New episodes drop every other Thursday, packed with insight, inspiration, and actionable ideas to help you grow as a leader—right where you are.

Want to learn more about the Ignite Leadership Conference?
 Visit 👉 www.igniteleadership.com

Transcript

[00:00:00] Speaker: Welcome to Ignite Cast, where ideas spark action. Brought to you by the Community Development Foundation, your Chamber of Commerce and economic development engine for Tupelo and Lee County. Thank you to our presenting sponsor, iHeartMedia, for powering this season of Ignite Cast. I'm Taylor. 

[00:00:35] Speaker 2: I'm Judd. 

[00:00:36] Speaker: And welcome to Ignite Cast.

[00:00:39] Speaker: And welcome to Ignite Cast. 

[00:00:41] Speaker 3: Taylor, another episode of Ignite Cast. 

[00:00:45] Speaker 2: Whoop-whoop. I knew 

[00:00:46] Speaker 3: you were gonna give me a whoop-whoop. Is that your favorite sound to make? 

[00:00:50] Speaker 2: Yeah, why not? 

[00:00:51] Speaker 3: It's fun. Every- 

[00:00:51] Speaker 2: everything calls for a whoop-whoop. 

[00:00:52] Speaker 3: There it is. There it is. You're extra excited today too, aren't you? 

[00:00:57] Speaker 2: I am. I'm very excited about our guest [00:01:00] today.

[00:01:00] Speaker 2: We have the one, the only Lori Dillon. 

[00:01:05] Speaker 3: Yes. Lori, w- quite a welcome, wasn't it? 

[00:01:08] Speaker 4: I know. I paid her $20 before I got here. Worth every 

[00:01:11] Speaker: dollar. 

[00:01:13] Speaker 3: It was worth every dollar. Man, that's exciting. 

[00:01:16] Speaker: Yes, yes. Lori, we're so happy to have you today. I just want to just jump right in, um, and ask you something we ask on every podcast.

[00:01:24] Speaker: I'm so excited for what you have to say. Um, just, I know you're just such a great leader in the community, so I'm excited for this episode. So anyways, let's start with the best leadership tip you've ever been given. 

[00:01:36] Speaker 4: Okay, 

[00:01:36] Speaker: this one 

[00:01:39] Speaker 4: I think is so easy, and th- I, I, I've obviously been around a lot of great leaders and had a lot of people speak into my life and just general, this one has been the most consistent.

[00:01:48] Speaker 4: Be kind to everybody. Yeah. It's just easy. And it, not because you're gonna get anything out of anybody, it's just if you're kind, people feel [00:02:00] good. They feel better. And nine times out of 10, that person is going to come back into your life- Mm-hmm ... one way or another. You don't know how, but if you're just kind to everybody- Mm

[00:02:12] Speaker 4: no matter what they can do for you. It, and a lot of times I like to look in the room and see who's maybe a little isolated, and you, I go to them and I'm like, "Hey, tell me about you. What do you do?" Mm-hmm. And then I try to take them to go connect with somebody in the room Even if they don't spend the entire time with me, I try to take them to somebody, 'cause if you're new, you don't know what to do.

[00:02:31] Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. I- it... Just get that kicked off a little bit and then they g- next time I see them at the roo- in a different room, they're more comfortable- Yeah ... 'cause they know people and- I was 

[00:02:39] Speaker: actually gonna... Before you even said that, I was gonna say, you are one of those people that reads a room, finds someone who's maybe s- not talking to anyone or standing kind of alone, and always go up to them.

[00:02:49] Speaker: So when I first started at CDF, I didn't realize that you were new in your role too, because you could not tell at all- ... that you were new. And I [00:03:00] thought, "Oh, this girl is so kind." Aw, thank you. "She's so kind because she, she does go up to those people who feel a little uncomfortable and who are new." Um, and so that's, I think that's a gift that you have too- Oh, thank you

[00:03:12] Speaker: is being able to do that. So not only do you think that that is your, um, uh, you know, your best leadership tip, but something that you also live by. You practice what you preach, and I like that. Oh, thank you. 

[00:03:24] Speaker 3: So let me ask you this. So, um, don't you think... 'Cause I, I don't like confrontation. Mm. I don't think Lori's ever been in a confrontation-

[00:03:31] Speaker 3: which is great. I'm 

[00:03:32] Speaker 4: creative with it. Yes, 

[00:03:33] Speaker 3: yes. But don't you think when you're always kind to people, that it probably disarms somebody that you didn't know you even had to disarm? Do you see that a lot? 

[00:03:44] Speaker 4: Yes. So if I, especially w- I'm, I'm involved with BNI, and so with BNI, one of the, um, core values is accountability.

[00:03:52] Speaker 4: So that means I have to go up to grown adults that are a lot of times older than me, and I have to correct them. I have to make them accountable [00:04:00] for behaviors, but then I also still have to do business with them and also still be a witness- Yeah ... for my faith. Yeah, yeah. You know, just i- live that way. Um, so you have...

[00:04:09] Speaker 4: I've, I have found if I come in and I'm like, "Hey, um, you know, whatever we have to address, this is what was said. This is what we need to take care of. Here's how we're gonna do it, and we're gonna keep it pumping. It's gonna be fine. We're gonna pick it up and move, and it's not gonna be a top of- topic of discussion."

[00:04:26] Speaker 4: I, I just find if you kind of surround everything with kindness and you're, you're never unkind, people are more receptive to even the hard conversations. 

[00:04:35] Speaker 3: Yeah. When she just did that, Taylor I felt disarmed. It was great. Not that I thought Lori was gonna bow up on me, but that was incredible. 

[00:04:44] Speaker 4: You never know.

[00:04:44] Speaker 4: If you ask my kids, they might have a different story. 

[00:04:46] Speaker 3: Exactly, exactly. But that's a great trait to have, for sure. Thank you. Yeah, 

[00:04:51] Speaker: yeah. You mentioned one thing that you're involved in, um, BNI, which is one of many that I, that I know of, and I'm sure there's some that I don't know of. But you are so involved in, [00:05:00] in the community here.

[00:05:00] Speaker: So I want you to talk a little bit about work/life balance. You're a, a mother, a friend, and an employee, and an active member of your church, and all the other things. So talk about how to balance that and maybe when to, how to know when to say yes to things and maybe when to say no. 

[00:05:19] Speaker 4: So this, a, a friend of mine, Carolyn Bronson, and I were talking last year, and we were just talk- we were saying yes to too much, and we could tell the quality of our engagement was dropping down.

[00:05:28] Speaker 4: I said, "Okay, 2026 is gonna be the year of no." Um, and I still said yes to two more boards, but I- And said yes to this podcast. And I said yes to this podcast. Um, but I did, I have been more intentional about saying no because I think if you just spread yourself too thin, your quality drops. Mm-hmm. And I really feel like your reputation is tied to the quality of what you produce, if that's being a good BNI member, if that's being a board member, i- you know, just a community liaison, whatever [00:06:00] that is.

[00:06:00] Speaker 4: And so you have to kinda shift that, um, and, and just be intentional about, "Okay, how many people am I gonna be able to serve? With how much time do I have to commit?" And, and you know, you just have to kinda have those conversations with yourself and have somebody to check in with and say, "Okay, let me run these details by you.

[00:06:18] Speaker 4: What do you think?" And, and, and so we- we've kinda been that sounding board for each other of, "Okay, maybe we should pull back off this." Mm-hmm. And so it's just being kind of intentional about the space you're in and how much you can truly give to that room 'cause or am I doing a disservice 'cause I can't show up and be active and be present for it?

[00:06:37] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. And that doesn't mean that that no can't be a yes later on down the road when that time opens up. Not right now. Yeah. No. Yeah. 

[00:06:43] Speaker: Agreed. 

[00:06:44] Speaker 3: I love that. I love that. 

[00:06:45] Speaker: I've, I've definitely had my times where I've been overcommitted and I needed to step back. Have you ever had a time where you, you know, you already committed to something and then realized, "I do not need to do that"?

[00:06:55] Speaker 4: 100%. But what I do in that moment is I will find [00:07:00] two... I take two approaches. One, I'll either say, "Hey, you know, I am finding I am overcommitted. This is too much for me. I would love to give you this other option. Let me pr- let me connect you with Judd. He's a great resource for, you know, whatever." Or- I 

[00:07:14] Speaker 3: paid her $20 to say that.

[00:07:16] Speaker 3: But just, just a lot more- I made my, I made my money back. Yes. Um, 

[00:07:19] Speaker 4: but or I will find somebody in the room that matches those skillsets- Mm-hmm To where the room needs them yet, but I will be intentional about cultivating that replacement and developing them or getting people around them to develop them with the intention of passing it off to 

[00:07:37] Speaker 5: them.

[00:07:38] Speaker 5: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. 

[00:07:39] Speaker 3: Community is such an important thing, Lori, and, and one good thing is, is, as, um, Taylor mentioned, you're involved in so many different things. Um, Taylor's involved in a lot of things. I am as well, and it's kinda neat because we're involved with people that their grandma was born here, their mama was born here, everybody was born here, and it's just- [00:08:00] Yeah

[00:08:00] Speaker 3: they're involved because they've been in this area- Mm-hmm ... forever, and their ancestry goes back to that. 

[00:08:06] Speaker 5: Yeah. 

[00:08:06] Speaker 3: Mine does not. I mean, I have been, you know, been here now 29 years, so do the math. I'm old. But, um- 

[00:08:14] Speaker: Young at heart, though, guys ... yeah, but- Yes ... 

[00:08:15] Speaker 3: you know, but I've gotten involved, and it didn't take, you know, a f- family lineage to do that.

[00:08:20] Speaker 3: Oh. Kinda tell your story, I mean, you're not from here originally- Mm-hmm ... and, and how you've engaged, you know, and, and done that from, from your beginnings to where you are now. 

[00:08:28] Speaker 4: Yeah. Um, so I'm originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana. I moved to Tupelo when I was 16 to the Tupelo Children's Mansion as a resident, and I lived there, um, just lived there until I was 20.

[00:08:41] Speaker 4: Um, I went to college in St. Louis and came back, and, uh, the, the Judds and the Drurys were all so kind and very special to me and still are. I still connect with them often. Um, and so uh, my hu- I met my husband there. His family worked there, so I met them. You know, went [00:09:00] off to a year of college, and he came back, and I was like, "I could work with that."

[00:09:02] Speaker 4: And so- ... you know, kind of I held him down, made him marry me, and then- ... we, um- 

[00:09:08] Speaker 3: She was kind when she did that, by the way. I wonder 

[00:09:10] Speaker 4: how many- She used 

[00:09:11] Speaker 3: kindness ... you had 

[00:09:13] Speaker 4: to pay him. There was kindness. Yes. That one was where I started negotiating skills. I got a ring and I never 

[00:09:19] Speaker 5: bought nothing. 

[00:09:19] Speaker 4: Um, so then we had some, you know, babies here, and so I was a stay-at-home mom, and when my kids got into school, I was like, "Okay, I'm not a sit-at-home mom.

[00:09:28] Speaker 4: I'm a... I was a stay-at-home mom, and I was a sit-at-home mom." And I was like, "I gotta get out and do something." Long story short, ended up becoming a licensed general contractor, and so I jump into our community, and I'm like, "This is huge. How in the world am I going to be acknowledged here as a contractor?"

[00:09:47] Speaker 4: And joined a BNI chapter and then just started getting involved in these rooms, and the community here is so special and so unique. And they're just open arms. [00:10:00] Just anybody that's willing to come work, and, and, and really if you just have a good work, work ethic, and you have a good, um, uh, have integrity behind what you do, it'll get you in any room.

[00:10:13] Speaker 4: It's, it's not difficult, 'cause people are always looking to pass on. Um, I got involved with scouting- Um, of America, and I joined the Clay Classic shoot, clay shoot. I've never shot a- ... gun on that size in my life. And I was like, "Look, I'm just a workhorse. Like, y'all just put me in coach wherever you can." And they loved that.

[00:10:35] Speaker 4: This is something that is very endearing to them, and, with me getting involved, and they have just... It, it's just one door has opened another door, and I love everybody that I'm connected to. It's just been a, a fabulous experience. 

[00:10:49] Speaker 3: That's awesome. 

[00:10:51] Speaker: It is. I, um, would have never guessed that you weren't from this ar- only maybe a little, just not the South, you know?

[00:10:56] Speaker: Yeah. Um, only the accent, of course. [00:11:00] But, um, you would never guess that you hadn't been a part of this community for so long, and like I mentioned earlier, you know, new to your role at, with Absolute, um, and just learning as you go, I, I would have never guessed you were new to CDF then either- Yeah ... 'cause you and Judd were such great friends.

[00:11:15] Speaker: We just saw each other's 

[00:11:16] Speaker 4: energy. Exactly. And just we were like- That's right. I call myself a goldendoodle in a room of people. I'm just super happy to see everybody. 

[00:11:24] Speaker: So fluffy. Um, but we do have something else that we like to do on every podcast, and that's play a clip from a past Ignite speaker. Okay. We have one that, um, I think plays into some things we've talked about already, and just your experience with the community, too.

[00:11:40] Speaker: So we're gonna hear from, um, Carlos, Carlos Whittaker from a past Ignite. So let's listen to him. 

[00:11:45] Speaker 6: You can't cheat time, but what we want, we want things so accelerated now. But the problem is, is like, that's not what creating moments is, uh, just about the one moment. But what happens when you begin to create small, [00:12:00] tiny moments of hope and of love in your family and your community over time, one day it's gonna spill all over your driveways, and that's when true connection happens.

[00:12:16] Speaker: So you can definitely speak to true connections with people, and he speaks a little bit about, you know, bringing hope to everyone, and y- you mentioned being kind to everyone. So how, how do you think your upbringing shaped the leader that you are and, and the mother that you are and just kinda helped you be the professional you are today?

[00:12:35] Speaker: Ooh, um, 

[00:12:37] Speaker 4: honestly, I just looked at the people around me. Um, at the Children's Mansion, it is a collective effort to keep us, you know, in s- doing schoolwork and staying on pace for your classes. We had chores we had to do. We had... There's, there's just something al- you know, you d- you, you can't just go back to the dorm and watch TV in your room, [00:13:00] not an option.

[00:13:00] Speaker 4: Like, we don't have TVs in there. Um, and so it's keeping the kids busy and things. So it was just very, um- Watching people be very intentional with small moments, and there was, there was another time I had gotten in trouble ... I know that's shocking. But I had gotten in trouble at the mansion for something, and Brother Judd just, you know, uh, called me in and we talked, and he was very kind and...

[00:13:23] Speaker 4: But, um, I thought, "Oh, man, I gotta go to breakfast the next morning and I'm gonna see him, and it's just, I'm gonna be, it's gonna be awkward, and he's gonna be like, 'Did you think about what I told you last week- ... last night?'" And, um, he walked up and he's like, "How's my girl doing?" And just put his arms around me, and just, it was just like the love reset, and...

[00:13:41] Speaker 4: The love was there in the correction, but in my mind, at the time, correction meant you're a bad kid, you're getting sent away, you're go- you know. And it was just that reset that happened. And so I noticed, you know what? You're gonna go through bad times. It's gonna ... You're gonna get corrected, you're gonna get disciplined, but just reset that love.

[00:13:59] Speaker 4: And a- and [00:14:00] I... That, it just, it, it just has to be intentional. It's not easy, it's intentional. Mm-hmm. And I, I think, you know, so in, in church, in, at home, at work, in, in the community, I think you just have to... My pastor, uh, Jay Carney, says something that has just stuck with me, "Error on the side of grace." Mm-hmm.

[00:14:20] Speaker 4: Just assume somebody has gotten the worst medical news- Mm-hmm ... and they cut you off in traffic because their mind is just not thinking. Now, traffic's probably not the best one to use as an example for me. But- Yeah ... when pe- when you're at the grocery store and somebody snaps at you, and you wanna go, "Well, who do you think you are?"

[00:14:37] Speaker 4: You know, you w- your natural wants to do that. And I have found if I go, "Ooh, are you okay? Is it... Man, you must be having a really bad day. You gotta put up with all these people here, not happy about how fast you're moving." And almost every time they've been like, "Yeah," or, "I just found out this," or- Mm-hmm. And it's, you just have these kind of moments with people that just we all wanna [00:15:00] brush by 'cause we got our agenda going on.

[00:15:02] Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. And so, um, that, that's probably been, uh, just taking these moments from watching the children's mansion- Mm-hmm ... and how they interacted with hundreds of children, and just seeing that that is applicable still today. 

[00:15:14] Speaker: Yeah, it is in every situation, too. You know, going back to just being kind to people.

[00:15:20] Speaker: N- new mom over here, and didn't realize I could function on such little sleep. Oh, yeah. But it's, it's also given me, um, a new perspective, too, and to be, to give grace to people. Grace, yeah. Not just women, Judd, I'll give you grace, too. But to, to know, you know, people do have so many things on their mind- Yeah

[00:15:41] Speaker: and you don't know what they're going through behind the scenes or behind closed doors, but everybody's got something going on. Yes. So the, the least we could do is just be kind and- Yeah ... give them grace and, you know- Just extend the helping hand, you know? Yeah. 'Cause that's what we would want someone to do for us too.

[00:15:57] Speaker: For sure. But I do wanna [00:16:00] talk about one more thing before we end this podcast. And then I have a 

[00:16:02] Speaker 3: question too. Oh, 

[00:16:03] Speaker: okay. Well, you can ask your question then. No, no, no. 

[00:16:04] Speaker 3: Go, go, go. 

[00:16:06] Speaker: I do wanna talk a little bit about imposter syndrome. Mm-hmm. I did not have this topic in mind for you whenever we were talking about having Lori on, and but your response to when I asked you, so when I asked you, "Lori, we want you to be on the podcast," you're like, "Psh, what?

[00:16:22] Speaker: Not me." "There's 

[00:16:24] Speaker 2: gotta 

[00:16:24] Speaker: be-" I said, "Girl, 

[00:16:24] Speaker 4: you are scraping the bottom of the barrel of Tupelo." "Somebody." "I'll be a team player, though." But 

[00:16:28] Speaker: that, um, that goes back to imposter syndrome, and I think we all, maybe not Judd, but we all- ... have that, have that time where we're like, "I'm totally not qualified for this."

[00:16:40] Speaker: Yeah. Even when I was interviewing for CDF, I'm like, "I think they're just being kind." Like, "I don't think I'm qualified for this, but I'll go for it." Um, but talk a little bit about that and how you've maybe stepped up in positions where you didn't feel qualified, but you, you kinda, you did it anyways. So, uh, when 

[00:16:58] Speaker 4: I first joined [00:17:00] BNI, I remember coming in, I'm a baby contractor, and I'm just like, I, I'm a baby business person.

[00:17:05] Speaker 4: I don't, I don't know any of the verbiage. Yeah. And I just knew when I walked into that room, somebody like Chris Garrison was gonna be like, "Tell me about your profits and loss sheet." I don't even know how to run that report. I don't, I don't, I, I'm gonna look like a, they're gonna be like, "She don't know."

[00:17:20] Speaker 4: And I was like, you know what? I'm a goofball. I am okay failing in front of people. I'm not easily embarrassed. Like, it's, that's just a character trait that I have, and so I was like, "All I can be is me." Mm-hmm. So if they come and say, "W- how's your P&L report going?" I'm gonna be like, "You know what? I don't know how to run that.

[00:17:39] Speaker 4: I would love for you to teach me how to run that report." "I don't even know what that means." And I just, I just was very transparent in my deficiencies, and what I actually found was people are rooting for you to win. And so you think the things that are gonna disqualify you, if you just go and instead of posturing like you've got it all [00:18:00] together, and I know what I'm doing for this, and, you know, oh yeah, we've been doing that, and I'm, I'm, I'm not gonna front like that.

[00:18:07] Speaker 4: I'm, I will tell you, "I don't know how to do X, Y, and Z, but do you have any tips? Do you have any," whatever. Um- And I actually found people rallied around me and helped set me up for success. Just that transparency of ... I, I will still say it to this day, I was in a meeting last week and they used some big verbiage, and I was, everybody else was just moving and grooving and the

[00:18:29] Speaker 4: And these are some of the, like, big Tupelo leaders. And I finally just said, "Hey, I'm so sorry. I don't know what we're talking about here. Could somebody break that down for me?" And they go, "Oh, yeah. Oh, this is an old verbiage from, like, so and so, and you wouldn't know that." And I didn't even think about that.

[00:18:47] Speaker 4: And, and they're just so kind to include you and pull you in. But if I just sat there and was like, "Yeah, I totally know what that means." I ... And then at the end when they look at me and want me to answer, I'm gonna be like, "I didn't hear anything you guys said 'cause I've been sitting here trying to figure out what..."

[00:18:59] Speaker 4: You know, it just- I've been [00:19:00] Googling. I've been Googling and nobody knows what you guys are talking about. And i- if you just are kind of, like, transparent and just are honest and be teachable- Mm-hmm ... oh, my word. Well- Every door opens. 

[00:19:11] Speaker 3: And, and that brings me to my ... I'm glad you asked that question first, Taylor, because I was gonna bring this up, and this goes back to a trait of a leader.

[00:19:19] Speaker 3: Lori's in our CLI class. Actually, Taylor's in that same class. And those, those classes just become family. Mm-hmm. And they gel so much together. And what I love about that class is everybody knows when we get to a session, Lori's gonna shoot her hand up and ask a question. Every- 

[00:19:36] Speaker: That 

[00:19:37] Speaker 3: is true. These two ladies know I'm not lying 

[00:19:40] Speaker: right now.

[00:19:40] Speaker: Nobody has to worry about if there's any awkward- 

[00:19:41] Speaker 3: But it, it goes back to what you were saying, Lori. I mean, you think about leaders. You're, you're showing kindness, you're showing love, you're showing grace. But the, the example you just gave about asking questions, uh, we all laugh about it in CLI class be- because we know Lori's gonna ask the question, but that's important for a leader to, to find the right answer.

[00:19:58] Speaker 3: Isn't that right? 

[00:19:59] Speaker 4: Yeah. [00:20:00] And I also think, you know, like, we were at North Mississippi Medical Center, and Shane Spees is sitting in front of us, and he's talking about what they do with their budget. When am I going to have the opportunity to ask Shane Spees, "What do you do with the extra 3%?" Yeah. Of ... I remember a- and I'm like, "I'm never going to

[00:20:18] Speaker 4: We're never gonna have a budget meeting discussion." You know? And I thought, "I'm not passing this up." And so I was like, "What do you do? You, you accounted for a big percentage of that. You still got 3%. What do you guys do with that?" He's like, "Good question. We invest that money." And I was like, "Okay, that makes sense."

[00:20:33] Speaker 4: And so when we sit in front of these community leaders, number one, I know when I'm doing a presentation and I say, "Does anybody have any questions?" And it's crickets, I'm like, "

[00:20:42] Speaker 5: Ooh, 

[00:20:42] Speaker 4: okay." And it's kinda awkward- No one listening ... and uncomfortable. Yeah, and you feel like nobody's listening. But if you have somebody that asks a question and engages, and then- That's 

[00:20:51] Speaker 3: Lori, by the way- I, I am-

[00:20:52] Speaker 3: for those calling at home. 

[00:20:53] Speaker 4: I am all about it. And I, I wanna- Engage. I want them to feel like we were paying [00:21:00] attention. I want them to know we were paying attention, and then when am I gonna get these opportunities? Like, it's so cool to me with our CLI class, I get behind the scenes of all of these different industries, and I get to ask these really...

[00:21:13] Speaker 4: If I just saw them at a CDF event, it's not appropriate for me to come up and say, "What'd you do with that extra 3% of the budget?" Not appropriate. But sitting in a class where we're talking about budgets, and I get to go, "Okay, that's..." Any of our leaders, Toyota, we've d- we've done all these things, and I'm, I'm going to seize the moment, and even if I'm the only one to ask a question, I'm fine with that.

[00:21:34] Speaker 4: I was presenting at Tupelo Rotary yesterday, and Greg Pirkle asked questions after question after question, and everybody in the class, or in the Rotary gave him a hard time. I was like, "Greg, I am the Greg Pirkle of our CLI class." Like, I am here for this. So I love that engagement. It's fun to me. 

[00:21:52] Speaker 3: And it helps you as a leader, doesn't it?

[00:21:54] Speaker 3: Just- I think 

[00:21:54] Speaker 4: so. Yeah. Yeah, now I'm way more knowledgeable of all these industries, and I didn't leave and go, "Oh, I wish I [00:22:00] would've been- Mm-hmm. "I wish I would've asked..." Yeah. Whatever. Yeah. I get all my questions out, so. Much to their dismay. That's right. 

[00:22:08] Speaker: That's right. No, I'm sure they appreciate it, but Lori, we thank you so much- Yes

[00:22:12] Speaker: for making time for us today. I know you're a busy gal, so thanks for giving us the time, um, to be on the Ignite Cast, and I know you will be at, um, the Ignite conference too. Absolutely. 

[00:22:21] Speaker 4: I was telling Judd we already got our tickets booked- Yeah ... for our whole company. I think we bought five or six, I can't remember.

[00:22:27] Speaker 4: So we're ready for the announcement of the speakers coming up. I- Oh, yeah ... I'm, I already bought my tickets 'cause I know it's gonna be good, but I'm- Yeah ... ready to- It's our 10th- ... year. You know it's gonna be great. Oh, yes. Yes. Well, I'm excited. Yeah. I'll be front and center. 

[00:22:39] Speaker 3: Good, good, and thanks for taking a selfie with us, too.

[00:22:42] Speaker 4: Absolutely. It wouldn't be the same- I know ... if 

[00:22:43] Speaker 3: Lori, we didn't get a selfie with Lori. I know. It's, 

[00:22:45] Speaker 4: it's out of my comfort zone, but I did it for you. 

[00:22:47] Speaker 3: We appreciate you.

[00:22:58] Speaker: Thanks for tuning in to [00:23:00] another episode of Ignite Cast, presented by iHeartMedia. For more leadership insights and engaging conversations, be sure to hit subscribe, and if you enjoyed today's episode, we'd love for you to leave a review. And remember, go forth- Go forth and do good 

[00:23:14] things